When I first heard about catoptophobia, it made no sense to me. Why did grown people of all people, suffer from this phobia? Was it their reflection they disliked seeing? Was it in any way connected to eating disorders or body dysmorphia?
After digging a litte more into this, I can now kind of understand and sympathize with those coping with these mirror phobias.
What exactly
is
Catoptrophobia, Eisoptrophobia
&
Spectrophobia ?
“Spectrophobia … Sufferers of spectrophobia can fear the breaking of a mirror bringing extreme bad luck. They can fear the thought of something frightening jumping out of the mirror or seeing something disturbing inside of it next to their own reflection when looking directly at it.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrophobia
Eisoptrophobia – Fear of seeing yourself in a mirror
So, in short:
Eisoptrophobia– don’t want to see themselves in mirrors
Catoptrophobia– dont like anything reflective, including mirrors
Spectrophobia– think something or someone will jump out of mirror or appear in mirror, also superstitious
I can’t help wondering if maybe the fear stems from childhood stories or movies, as they seemed to be based off some sort of superstition and the supernatural.
TREATMENT
Treatment typically includes exposure therapy and psychotherapy.
Conclusion
Even after the research i’ve done, I still can’t help but wonder:
- How these people drive (or if they drive)
- Do they ever use any mirrors to dress or comb their hair in the morning,
- Do they wear makeup?
- How do they cope when they go out to eat in restaurants where beverages are served in glass?
Do you or anyone else you know have any of these mirror phobias? Have you ever heard of it before today? Let me know in the comments below.
This may sound silly to me but I know someone, somewhere, is terrified so I won’t laugh. I actually want my reflection to so something other than what I’m doing. I think mainly for the overload to my senses, then for me to run away terrified. 🤣🤣
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Lmao
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